Chapter 163: Chapter 162: Genggeng Stood Up

If he hadn’t had to control his speed to let Zhou Suqing lead, Bai Zichen could have flown his Celestial Xin Sword the seven hundred li and arrived in less than half an hour.

Since he couldn’t go any faster, sitting in the Colorful Cloud Robe was still more comfortable.

This was Genggeng’s first time out since arriving at Feiyue Lake. It excitedly crawled all over the place, making Bai Zichen a little worried the small cub might fall and be smashed to a pulp.

"So, this is the place."

Seeing Zhou Suqing stop before the valley ahead, Bai Zichen also put away his Colorful Cloud Robe.

"This is it. You two junior brothers, be careful when you go inside. Don’t let your guard down."

Zhou Suqing glanced at the Tai Chi Bear cub on Bai Zichen’s shoulder, a few Array Banners already in her hand.

The deep ravine was dark and gloomy, filled with jagged rocks. A thick fog lingered in the valley year-round—no wonder they said you couldn’t see the light of day here.

Bai Zichen descended into the valley and spread his Divine Sense, hoping to find the Demon Beasts as soon as possible.

"Senior Brother Bai, don’t go so fast. We need to be able to watch each other’s backs."

Su Li walked to his left, having already applied five or six Talismans to himself. His body glowed with an iridescent light.

"Demon Beast activity, two hundred zhang ahead!"

With a sharp cry, Zhou Suqing planted her Nine-Sided Array Banner in the ground. Layers of radiant canopies materialized, overlapping one another as she laid down the Grand Array in an instant.

This was the very Nine Palace Shifting Formation she had described on the way; when deployed instantly, it reached the power of Tier Two Low Grade.

"They’re here so fast!"

’Zhou Suqing’s Divine Sense has twice the range of a normal Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator!’ Bai Zichen thought, shocked.

’When I reach that Realm, I wonder if I’ll be able to surpass her.’

’And that instantaneous Array Formation technique is something to envy. It’s practically a cheat. I just can’t figure out how someone like that could be so weak in Combat.’

"So they’re insect-type Demon Beasts!" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Two ferocious centipedes, each several zhang long with two wings on its back, flew through the air, rapidly approaching.

"Two-Winged Yin Centipede, a Tier Two Low-Grade Demon Beast. They love to live in lands thick with Yin Sha, surviving by breathing Yin Qi."

Zhou Suqing explained quickly, living up to her reputation as a walking encyclopedia. She knew the habits and weaknesses of all kinds of Demon Beasts like the back of her hand.

"The centipede’s back is harder than hardened steel; ordinary Spiritual Artifacts can’t harm it. The Yin Qi it spews is highly poisonous and extremely corrosive... Junior brothers, you can wait for my Array to fully deploy. Once the two Two-Winged Yin Centipedes are inside, I can use the radiant canopies to suppress and reposition them."

Before Zhou Suqing could finish her explanation, a brilliant Sword Light flared from Bai Zichen’s hand, streaking across the sky like a rainbow piercing the sun.

Before she could even utter a word of caution, the Two-Winged Yin Centipede in the lead was abruptly severed in two, dying without a sound.

Zhou Suqing and Su Li stared at each other, then at the corpse of the Two-Winged Yin Centipede on the ground. The wound was as smooth as a mirror; one could only imagine how incomparably sharp the Sword Light had been.

’So exhilarating! Practicing at home is nothing compared to the thrill of slaying Demon Beasts in Combat!’

The power of the Celestial Xin Sword and the Sound Bamboo Sword’s Dual Swords Unification was far more than a simple sum; otherwise, the instantaneous consumption of half the Liquid Magical Power in his Qi Sea would have been a waste.

The two Sword Lights intertwined, finally merging into a single, exquisite stream of light that sliced off countless centipede legs and cut the Two-Winged Yin Centipede in two as if it were tofu.

"Senior Sister Zhou, Junior Brother Su, three more are coming! I’ll leave them to you... I’ll come help after I finish this one off!"

In Bai Zichen’s line of sight, three more Two-Winged Yin Centipedes were flying closer. His Sword Light split back into two streams, engulfing the one before him.

It arched its body and spat a cloud of Yin Qi, but the attack was torn to shreds by the Sword Light, unable to even get close.

"Senior Sister Zhou, I’ll use Talismans to help you trap these three Two-Winged Yin Centipedes!"

Su Li snapped out of his shock, a stack of Talismans appearing in his hand.

As a Tier Two Talisman Master, the cost of Talisman Making was low. Using Talismans to attack enemies was far more cost-effective than buying Spiritual Artifacts.

Moreover, using Talismans consumed almost no Magical Power, so his sustained combat ability was far superior to that of many other Cultivators.

"Don’t worry. The two of us together can’t possibly accomplish less than Junior Brother Bai did with one strike... I truly didn’t expect his combat prowess to be so terrifying. He truly lives up to the name Sword Immortal!"

With a flick of her hands, Zhou Suqing’s Array suddenly expanded, enveloping all three Two-Winged Yin Centipedes.

The Nine Palace Shifting Formation excelled at suppression and confinement.

Its lethality wasn’t necessarily high, but under the control of Zhou Suqing, a Tier Two Top-Grade Array Master, the Array constantly shifted its orientation, splitting the three Two-Winged Yin Centipedes apart.

Su Li ripped six Fire Element Talismans in succession—all of them Tier Two—instantly creating a sea of flames that left one of the Two-Winged Yin Centipedes burning in agony.

"I’d never seen it myself, only heard the stories... I thought people were already exaggerating, but today I see how narrow my horizons were."

For Su Li, using Talismans was as natural as breathing. He could unleash one hundred percent of each Talisman’s effect with his eyes closed and still have enough spare concentration to glance at the battlefield outside the Array.

Seeing Bai Zichen’s two flashing Sword Lights completely suppressing the remaining Two-Winged Yin Centipede, a complex mix of jealousy and admiration rose in his heart.

Previously, when Bai Zichen reached Foundation Establishment two years ahead of him, he could still comfort himself by saying luck was a factor and that he might be able to catch up.

Now, having witnessed that terrifying Sword Light with his own eyes, he knew the gap between them was ten times greater than he had imagined.

’If I had faced that stunning Sword Light just now,’ Su Li thought, ’my only option would have been to accept my death.’

With a flick of her focus, Zhou Suqing teleported a Two-Winged Yin Centipede that had struggled to within thirty zhang of her all the way back to over a hundred zhang away.

At the same time, she summoned an Inkstone Platform, which spun in the air as it smashed toward the Two-Winged Yin Centipede.

"Sever!"

The two Sword Lights left numerous Sword Marks on the Two-Winged Yin Centipede. Having continuously spat out Yin Qi, it grew sluggish, barely able to flap its wings.

The silver light of the Celestial Xin Sword pinned the Two-Winged Yin Centipede, while the other luminous Sword Light—the Sound Bamboo—accompanied by a Jade Sound, struck unpredictably from an oblique angle, severing its wings.

Grievously wounded, the Two-Winged Yin Centipede could resist even less. Within a few exchanges, the two Sword Lights had diced it into several pieces.

The combination of Zhou Suqing and Su Li—the Array plus the Talismans—was potent. These two "cheesy" tactics left the three Two-Winged Yin Centipedes completely disoriented.

Furthermore, one was a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator with profound Magical Power, while the other only used Talismans, not activating any Spiritual Artifacts.

Given another hour, victory would have surely been theirs.

But Bai Zichen rejoined the fray, and in just a few strikes, he finished off the Two-Winged Yin Centipede that had been half-burned to death by the Fire Element Talismans.

An incense stick’s time later, there were no living Two-Winged Yin Centipedes left in the Array.

"Normally, there shouldn’t be any more Demon Beasts in the valley... Let’s search one more time. While we’re at it, let’s see if it’s an Earth Evil Yin Vein or a Netherworld Stone Ore Vein."

Zhou Suqing looked at the insectoid Demon Beast corpses covering the ground, put away the Array Banners of the Nine Palace Shifting Array, and still found the shocking efficiency hard to believe.

She had come prepared for a grueling battle. She had even considered the possibility that their first foray would be just a reconnaissance mission, forcing them to retreat and return later with a more thorough plan.

But the unexpected addition of Junior Brother Bai had made this mission incredibly simple.

The Two-Winged Yin Centipede’s back, Poison Sac, and front claws could all be used as Artifact Refining Materials. Su Li, considering himself the lowest in status among the three, obediently took on the task of cleaning up the battlefield.

As an Array Master, Zhou Suqing was most sensitive to things like the course of Spirit Veins and the distribution of Spiritual Qi. After a moment of calculation, she pointed to the spot in the valley where the Yin Qi was most abundant.

The three of them meandered to the center of the valley, where they found a cavern entrance amid a pile of huge, jumbled rocks.

A glance inside revealed a darkness so deep it was hard to make out, as if it connected to the depths of the Underworld.

Probing with Divine Sense, one could feel a fierce Evil Qi tinged with a desolate chill even before entering the cavern.

"This is it... Just as Junior Brother Bai predicted, it’s an Earth Evil Yin Vein!"

Zhou Suqing sighed softly; it was hard to tell if she sighed out of emotion or disappointment at finding the Earth Evil Yin Vein.

"Senior Sister Zhou, do you recognize what kind of Earth Evil Yin Vein this is? What kind of Gang Sha can the Evil Qi from it be condensed into?"

Bai Zichen touched the edge of the cavern. It was covered in a layer of frost, and even his resilient body could feel a distinct chill.

"It should be Profound Frost Gang Sha. Its effect is similar to Pure Yang Gang Sha... However, for a Cultivator who practices an Ice Element Technique, the chance of a successful Foundation Establishment increases by another half-level."

Zhou Suqing paused for a moment before giving her answer.

"You’re so knowledgeable, Senior Sister Zhou. I’ve never even heard of this type of Gang Sha."

’I have a Talisman Spirit Body, for crying out loud,’ Su Li thought, ’so how did I end up seeming like a complete mediocrity in front of these two?’

One was a Sword Cultivator with a Cultivation speed rivaling that of someone with an Abnormal Spiritual Root, on top of having peerless combat power.

The other’s only flaw was her lack of combat skill, but she embodied the principle of "mastering one art to understand all." Any casual skill she displayed left him eating her dust.

"You praise me too much, Junior Brother Su. I’ve just read a few more books than most... The Evil Qi of this Earth Evil Yin Vein is abundant. There’s no need to wait ten years; we can probably condense a strand of Profound Frost Gang Sha by next year."

"That would be best. Let’s split up and search again to see if there are any other Earth Evil Yin Veins in the valley."

Genggeng suddenly stood up on Bai Zichen’s shoulder and took a sharp sniff. Two streams of Yin Sha Qi rushed into its nostrils.

It then began to roar urgently, leaping to the ground. It tumbled over and over, darted forward a short distance, then scurried back, still roaring.

"You want to lead us to a place similar to this one?"

Bai Zichen’s mind was linked to his Spirit Beast’s, so he could roughly understand what Genggeng meant.

He signaled to the other two to follow Genggeng. "My Spirit Beast is a mutated Tai Chi Bear. Its combat strength is lower, but it gained a talent for treasure hunting. It can even sense Spiritual Qi buried a hundred zhang underground."

After walking a hundred zhang, Genggeng roared wildly at a stone wall. It struck forcefully with its two fat, short front paws, but the wall didn’t move an inch.

Seeing its master approach, it rolled back to Bai Zichen’s feet and tugged hard on his pant leg.

"So you want me to deal with this stone wall..."

Bai Zichen perceived the emotion Genggeng was conveying: it felt wronged, as if it had been bullied by the stone wall.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he took out the Celestial Xin Sword. With a swirl of Sword Light, the stone wall was pierced through and shattered, sending broken rocks tumbling to the ground.

Behind the stone wall was a cavity.

The instant it broke open, a dense Yin Sha Qi surged out, and the air temperature dropped slightly.

"Another Earth Evil Yin Vein, exactly the same as the last one!"

Su Li shouted excitedly as he passed through the opening to take a look.

"Senior Brother Bai, your Spirit Beast is much more useful than my white snake! After it hatched, it just sleeps all day. It’s awake for less than a tenth of the time!"

Bai Zichen smiled. ’This Spirit Beast of mine might be lazy on a normal day,’ he thought, ’but it’s pretty useful when it counts.’

Just then, it transmitted another message: in its perception, there was one more place very similar to this one.